VOL. 3 NO. 2
STETSON UNIVERSITY, DELAND, FLORIDA
OCTOBER, 1974
Activities Center Named for Edmunds
Dedication Set
Stetson's new $1.6 million activities
center will be named in honor of university chancellor Dr. J. Ollie Edmunds, according to Stetson president
Dr. John E. Johns.
His announcement followed action
by the school's board of trustees at
their September meeting in DeLand.
Formal dedication ceremonies for
the multi-purpose building are
planned for Nov. 15.
Explaining the trustees' decision to
honor Dr. Edmunds, Dr. Johns pointed
out, "This action was taken in recognition of his many valuable past serves to this university."
Pr. Edmunds served as president of
5tson from 1948 until his retirement
/1967 when he was named chancellor and an emeritus member of the
/board of trustees.
"Dr. Edmunds has not forgotten
Stetson since his retirement, and his
interest and enthusiasm continue,"
Dr. Johns explained.
One of Stetson's most prominent
alumni, Chancellor Edmunds received
an A.B. in 1925, an A.M. in 1927 and
an LL.B. in 1928. In 1943, Stetson honored him with an LL.D.
In 1930, he began a life of public
service when he was appointed county
judge in Duval Co. He was reelected
three times, serving until 1944.
STETSON'S ACTIVITIES CENTER — Stetson's new activities center is named in honor of Or. J. Ollie Edmunds, chancellor and former president of the university. The school's trustees made the selection at their September meeting in
DeLand. The building's dedication is scheduled Nov. 15.
Named president of Stetson in 1948,
he was the first graduate of any Florida college to return to his alma mater
in that capacity.
He was the first Florida college
president to also serve as president of
the American Association of Colleges.
Dr. Edmunds gained national attention in 1950 for a series of articles and
addresses on financial conditions of
small, private, church-related colleges.
He, also, has received three Freedoms
Foundation Awards for addresses.
In 1961, he served as president of
the Florida Baptist State Convention.
He is past chairman of the board of
directors of the Jacksonville Branch,
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta; a
director of the Florida National Bank
of Jacksonville; director of the John
B. Stetson Co. of Philadelphia; and a
partner of Gualala Redwoods of Santa
Rosa, Calif.
Stetson's activities center, designed
to serve both the university and surrounding community, will accommodate large audiences for concerts, lectures, convocations, commencements,
athletic events and the university's
intramural program.
With the opening of the facility,
the university, for the first time in 25
years, will have seating capacity for
the entire student body under one
roof.
Chisholm Speech Launches
Artists-Lecturers Series
CHISHOLM GREETS FUTURE VOTER — U. S. Rep. Shirley Chisholm, right,
took a moment away from meeting Stetson students during a reception in her
honor to give this unidentified future voter an autograph. The reception followed her speech at Elizabeth Hall auditorium which inaugurated the university's 1974-75 Artists and Lecturers Series.
Calling for a reunion of religious
faith and public life, U.S. Rep. Shirley
Chisholm (D-N.Y.) told her Stetson
audience, "For too long we've tried to
divorce public and private life" keeping "public life and religious faith in
two separate watertight compartments."
"Without some kind of firm moral
basis, the conduct of government
seems no longer possible," she continued. She was speaking in Elizabeth
Hall auditorium during orientation in
the first guest appearance of the 1974-
75 Artists and Lecturers Series.
The 49-year-old ex-schoolteacher
said the failure Americans have experienced is a moral failure due to a
simple lack of principle — a vacuum
of ethical standards.
Although she was speaking of recent events in governmental history,
Rep. Chisholm indicated the problem
pervaded many segments of today's
society from government to business.
She insisted the American people
should demand ethical leadership in
order to "put this country back on an
even keel."
"In our nation, we get what we deserve, and we deserve what we get,"
she explained.
"I've never seen such apathy over
elections as I've seen in our country,"
she added. "Everyone says politics is
dirty business, but politics controls
the air we breathe and the water we
drink."
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